The present invention relates to a trough-shaped travelling bracket which is a component of a retracting and/or guiding arrangement incorporated in a mine support. More particularly, it relates to a trough-shaped travelling bracket which has a web flatly lying on a mine floor in the region of a travelling path and is provided with fixing elements at its mine-face side for releasably coupling with an abutment displacing in a longitudinal direction of the mine.
Travelling brackets of the above mentioned general type are known in the art. One such travelling bracket is disclosed, for example, in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,650,351. The travelling bracket forms a bridging member between a mine support, for example a mine roof support, and an abutment displacing in a longitudinal direction of the mine, for example a mine conveyor or a retracting beam, so as to considerably facilitate the mine guidance. With respect to fixing elements associated with the travelling bracket, the travelling bracket specifically corresponds to the spatial operational situation. The fixing element includes a supporting shackle and a turning cylinder-and-piston unit, so that the abutment formed by a mine conveyor can be turned for level control of the tool guided on the mine conveyor. When during the process of progressing excavation this spatial operational situation is changed, for example so that another fixing element is required, the entire travelling bracket must be exchanged. As a rule, parts of the retracting and/or guiding arrangement connected with the travelling bracket at its mine-filling side must also be exchanged. Such an exchange can be required, for example, when the excavation method and/or the geological properties make unnecessary lifting or lowering of the abutment with respective action on the excavation device guided on the abutment or another turning drive is necessary. Expenditures connected with such an exchange are very high. The exchange works are difficult, inasmuch as they must be performed in a very narrow space. This is especially difficult when the stratum thickness decreases to a value range of 1 m and less. In addition to this, there are a great variety of types of abutments which prevent utilization of a travelling bracket with fixedly connected fixing elements as components of a retracting and/or guiding arrangement integrated in a mine support, which can be stored and then brought from the abutment back into the working location.